The Perpetual Self
by TheNovelust
Summary: After the death of Steve Rogers in the tragedy of Civil War, Tony Stark makes a deal with Odin, the All-Father, in order to get his dearest friend back.


"Save him!" The shout echoes although there are no walls around on which the sound waves may resonate. Pain and anguish itself is enough. Nothing. No change in the world, not even a slight one, alerts him to the presence of the god he so desperately seeks. "Save him." Merely a tiny sigh riding the wings of desperation. Anthony Edward Stark's head hangs low as he fights back tears he refuses to let fall. "Please." He begs to someone always watching, unseen. "I'll do anything."

The ambient temperature begins to change suddenly from the warmth of the New York summer to the coolness of the last cringes of fall on the brink of winter. Tony raises his head, perplexed but not unaccustomed or surprised by what is happening. The All-Father has been summoned.

"Odin." The squeak of his helpless voice differs largely from his usual soft spoken confidence. Eyes glazed with tears, Tony turns to the All-Father. A small grin hides underneath the bushel of Odin's beard. Tony would have described it as cocky and smug, had he cared enough to really take notice. Heart tightening in his chest and breath catching in his throat, Tony forces his request out once more. "Save him." A single tear escapes the confines of his eye lids and crawls down his cheek. Too heartbroken to care, the tear settles into his beard like a dewdrop.

"And you will give anything?" Eyebrow raised, a curious half-smile now dances on the edge of Odin's lips.

No thought needed. "Yes." The word leaves Tony's lips before it has been completely formed. Desperation had driven Tony this far, and he was not going to let selfishness or lack of commitment get in his way now.

"I want you." Odin's voice booms like the thunder that comes after the lightning which his son commands. "I want you to come live with me in Asgard… As a servant of sorts."

"Forever?" The squeak escapes him again. Tony glances over to Steve's cold, lifeless body, and he knows in that moment that he would indeed give up forever for there to simply be life and a soul in that body again.

"Three years is all I ask, in which you will not age a day."

Three years alongside Odin, as a servant to Asgard and then he would have a lifetime with Steve once again. It almost does not seem like a fair trade for Odin, but he knows the All-Father could easily have deeper plans. He does not care however. He needs Steve just as much as he needs the oxygen filling his lungs. "I agree." His voice is strong and confident again as he is poised in his decision.

"Very well." Odin strolls over to the body, long strides that make him appear to glide upon the earth rather than walk it. Kneeling, he places a hand over the blood stained star on Steve's chest. A bright light begins to glow from Odin's fingertips, dribbling out like drool from the lips of a sleeping toddler in thick, heavy droplets and turning to lively, jumping sparks when they touch Steve's lifeless form. Amazement and horror intermingle within Tony's chest as he watches the color slowly return to Steve's cheeks: first a pale salmon, then a rosy pink, and finally a bright red, as if he's flustered by one of Tony's dirty jokes. Breath catching in his throat at the sight of Steve flushing with life, Tony drops to his knees besides him. Tears well up in his eyes once more as he look to Odin.

"It's… It's done?" He manages to gasp, heart beating in his chest so furiously it leaves no room for his lungs to expand.

Odin nods solemnly, slowly. "Aye. It is done." Straightening, he looms over Tony yet cast no shadow. "It will be some time 'til he wakes and your sentence has started, Anthony Stark." Grimly, almost like death taking a child, Odin places a hand upon Tony's shoulder. "We must go."

Before Tony can speak, Odin transports them to Asgard. For a few brief seconds, Tony feels as if he has the worst hangover of his life, but the feeling subsides quickly once he senses the ground of Asgard beneath his hands and knees. Tony's heart sinks to the soles of his feet. He continues to stare before him, at the place where Steve had lain only moments before. "I didn't even get to say good bye." Eyes wide, tears dripping from them freely now, Tony looks up at Odin. "You didn't even let me say good bye. "You will see him again Anthony, fear not. There is no reason for good bye." But Odin seems ashamed that he did not allow Tony the chance to speak with Steve before whisking him away for the next three years. "Come. Let me show you to your chambers."

* * *

Steve attempts to sit up, but his limbs are stiff, reminding him of how he felt when he was thawed from the ice. Breathing slowly and evenly, the calm can remain. Eyelids flutter close as the memories wash over him like waves gently lapping at a shoreline.

He had died. He remembered it so clearly the pain still stung him. Yet he lived. Breath fills his lungs, his heart pumps blood throughout his body, the synapses in his brain connect. As sure as he is Captain America, he is alive. The certainty of his death probes his brain. Unable to comprehend, for death is truly the end, Steve stops dishing for an explanation and decides to accept the fact that he is alive once again. Looking around him, instincts telling him to check his surroundings, Steve sees nothing but short shrubs and brown parched grass. He can't recall any places he knows that look like this one.

A jingling off to his right causes him to turn, eyes widening. A cell phone emits the sound, screen lit with the name "PEPPER POTTS" and a picture to match displayed. Steve picks up the phone, sliding the arrow across the screen to answer.

"Uh… Hello?" His voice sounds strange, unused for so long, it creaks like an old door on rusty, reluctant hinges. Silence for a few moments, which makes Steve unsure if his voice is working at all. "Hello?"

"To-Steve?" The coice on the other line is heavily pregnant with confusion. Steve doesn't know what to say. "Nevermind. Where are you Tony?"

"This is Steve." He manages to croak out, still unaccustomed to speaking. "I don't know where Tony is."

"This is a bad joke, especially for you Tony. Or are you drunk?" He can practically hear Pepper toll her eyes over the phone and it amuses him, despite the situation. It's so typically Pepper.

"This is really Steve. I don't know where I am and Tony's not around." He searches his mind desperately for a way to prove himself, but comes up dry. "What happened Pepper?"

Quiet for a few moments, then Pepper replies. "I've had J.A.R.V.I.S. track the phone. You're some way out of New York. I'm going to have someone pick you up. If this isn't Tony, I suggest you run. This is a sick joke and the driver will not be happy when he meets the prankster." She hangs up before Steve has the chance to say anything in his defense. Steve takes the phone from his ear and stares at it. At least he isn't stuck out here, wherever "here" is. He looks up at the sky, unsure of what is going on, but rather sure he's not going to like it.

* * *

In his new bedroom, his bedroom for the next three years, Tony lets out a deep sigh filled with exasperation and longing. Regret doesn't touch his heart: he knows this is more than worth it. Alone, he feels the weight of Steve being so close yet so far away on his heart.

A knock sounds, startling Tony from his thoughts. He hasn't heard a knock in years, not with J.A.R.V.I.S. around. "Come in." He rises, standing stock-still in front of the bed, looking very much like a deer caught in headlights. The door creeps open slowly to reveal Fandral, a grim expression upon his face.

"Odin wanted me to make sure you've been properly taken care of." He won't look at Tony, and Tony finds that strange. Despite being a warrior, he's fidgeting slightly, which Tony also finds odd.

"I'm fine. Thanks." Tony says, looking around the room to see if there is anything missing that he might need. He can't think of anything so he sits back down on the edge of the bed.

Fandral continues to look around awkwardly. Finally, he mutters "I'm sorry", closing the door before Tony can say anything, leaving him alone with his suspicions.


End file.
